Cardiac Transplantation

Abstract

Since the first human heart transplantation in 1967 [1], cardiac transplantation has evolved from a medical curiosity to an accepted therapy for end-stage cardiomyopathy. Initial 1-year survival was only about 20%. With the general availability of cyclosporine in 1986, 1-year survival improved to more than 80%, with current 1-year survival now approaching 90% at high-volume transplant centers. Accordingly, the number of transplantations increased worldwide from 90 in 1981 to 2000 in 1988 to 3122 in 2001 [2].

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